This invention relates to apparatus for grinding workpieces and, more particularly, to grinding wheel dressers.
To provide the proper cutting action when grinding a workpiece, it is desirable to have sharp abrasive grains of the grinding wheel working surface exposed at all times. However, as a grinding wheel is used to remove metal from a workpiece, the exposed abrasive grains of the working surface become dull and particles of metal and contaminants become lodged between the grains. Hence, unused sharp grains of the wheel are exposed, and dull grains and particles of metal and contaminants are removed by periodically dressing the grinding wheel. One way of dressing the wheel is by passing a diamond or other hard cutting tool across the working face of the rotating wheel to cut away or remove the dull grains and the particles of metal contaminants lodged between the dull grains.
A grinding wheel dresser embodying this invention has a diamond dressing tool carried by a pivotally mounted arm driven by a fluid-actuated drive to sweep the diamond dressing tool in a path across the working surface of a rotating grinding wheel. The arm and fluid-actuated drive are carried by an arbor received in a mounting body so that the angular orientation of the path of the diamond dressing tool can be varied and adjusted with respect to the working surface of the grinding wheel to facilitate the dressing of various working surfaces with different contours and/or inclinations with respect to the axis of rotation of the grinding wheel.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention are to provide a grinding wheel dresser which is highly accurate, easily operated, compact, exceptionally rigid and strong, durable, of simple design and assembly, has a long in-service life and requires little, if any, maintenance and repair.